OMG, Buckytom!! That's too far away! It's at least 66 for me. I look at the kids I know in my neighborhood, think to myself and wonder if there will be anything left for THEM when they reach retirement age! Some of them are working already, but they are paid under the table.

I DID get a food stamp card. It gets refilled monthly and is used at the supermarkets quite similar to a debit or credit card. That takes care of the food issues.

I have to go out for a medicine refill, so I'll stop by the APAC office to inquire about fuel assistance. They told me where to go for food stamps.

my dad jokingly thanks me for my contribution to social security every year. he's been collecting for almost 20 years now, and i'm sure has gotten out more than he put in.

and now my eldest brother will be retiring in a few years.

i'll be lucky to get anything by the time i retire, at the (then minimum) age of 70.

This is true, bt. I doubt most of us here will receive anything near what we paid into it. My understanding is that the monies that have been paid into SS since it was instituted were managed poorly by the government, using them for low-interest loans and such that didn't make our money grow sufficiently. I don't know if that has changed, but it appears the government has decided to deal with the shortages by cutting our benefits and making us wait longer to be eligible.

I hate to be a cynic because I am one. Fact is the system isn't broken - it just never was well. We must understand that the "system" exists to sever the bureaucrats who are helpless because they are bureaucrats, otherwise they would be something else.

It has long been said, and I think true, If we are prepared to let the government do it for us then we also must be prepared to be disappointed.

Oh - fact is the social security bank account is empty - the government long since "borrowed" it all and spent it. Also, it was set up as a pyramid scheme - enough has never been paid in - it has relyed on increasing numbers of workers to offset the growing number of retirees. Well, it's out run of itself, the pyramid is collapsing under the increasing number of retirees, like me. Ever wonder why the government is so anxious to keep those illegals coming? You got it. Of course that will turn into a bigger problem. D

I have MS, and I went as far as getting a lawyer for my SSDI, but I was turned down, and if I did not go back to work, my benefits would run out by 2009, and I had to go back to work for at least a year and a half.

My son was turned down, even thought he has autism. they had him take a IQ test for a little over an hour and they think they know that he is fine. I spend every day with him and know what he cannot do. He is 18 and cannot drive. how many 18 year old boys do you know that cannot drive, unless there is something wrong with them.

It's heartbreaking to hear what you're going thru, Corey123. My dad fought the same beaurocracy five or six years ago when he went on SSD. After a heart attack, having one lung removed d/t cancer, he was still turned down the first time. This despite having 1) arthritis, 2) loss of one eye, 3) arythmia, 4) diabetes, 5) one arm that's almost useless (no cartiledge at all in the joint) and divertriculitus. On top of it all he's a Viet Nam vet, having served two tours on an aircraft carrier on the flight deck! He was very fortunate that it was an election year, though- he wrote his Senator who must've decided it was a PR dream. A week and a half later he was informed they'd "re-examined his case" and approved it. Some snivelling funcionary claimed that the letter had nothing to do with it. Yeah, right!

Stay on 'em, Corey123! And by all means, consult an attorney. There are many who'll help cases like yours pro bono. It seems like those weasels must get a bonus for each hardworking taxpayer they screw over, but they eventually have to follow the law. Perhaps they hope that a certain percentage will simply give up, saving them money. But it's not really their money- it's your money! You paid it in in good faith. Now is your hour of need.

Definately check with a lawyer. And keep your chin up!

__________________

__________________
If we're not supposed to eat animals, then how come they're made out of meat?